Using volunteer labor, the Encinitas Arts, Culture and Ecology Alliance plans to repaint the entire exterior of the old Pacific View School this weekend.

The group — which is working with the city of Encinitas to transform the former elementary school into a community arts facility — will host a "weekend of service" event April 29 and 30. At least 60 volunteers had signed up by Thursday, including a large contingent from North Coast Church of Vista, alliance member Steve Barilotti said.

He said more help is needed and people can volunteer by emailing EACEAlliance@gmail.com.

"If they can hold a paint brush or a roller in their hand, we want them," said Barilotti.

The weekend will also mark the launch of a $2.4 million Kickstarter campaign to fund the full transformation of the campus into an arts and ecology center. Leaders hope the school's newly repainted exterior will entice people to donate to the campaign in the months to come, he said.

For years, the old elementary school — which occupies a full city block along downtown's Third Street — has been a blighted spot.

The Encinitas Union School District closed the campus in 2003 and as various purchase proposals fell through, the place quickly began to look neglected. Over the years, most of the landscaping died, vandals broke classroom windows and the aging painted surfaces began peeling away.

The city of Encinitas reached a deal with the school district to buy the 2.8-acre property in 2014. The alliance — a coalition of more than 50 Encinitas arts enthusiasts and nonprofit organizations — signed a right-of-entry agreement with the city last year, allowing members to begin replacing the broken windows, adding new plants and repainting.

Alliance members ultimately hope to complete a full renovation so that the complex can be used for classes, gallery spaces, artists' workshops and cultural events. Fruit trees, vegetable beds, solar power panels, rainwater collection devices and a gray water filtration system also are planned.

Before they can do all that, they need financing, Barilotti said, and that’s where the fund-raising campaign comes in.

Next weekend's work, however, will be a simple beautification project to make the exterior look a little better.

The job will come with a few special perks, Barilotti said.

Bull Taco is providing a free lunch to all participants and the school parking lot will be open, so people who register in advance won't have to hunt for a downtown parking spot during one of the busiest weekends of the year — the weekend of the annual Encinitas Spring Street Fair.

That means volunteers can help out in the morning, leave their cars in the parking lot and go shopping at the street fair booths in the afternoon, Barilotti said.

All painting supplies will be provided. The alliance has 80 cans of "earth tone brown" paint ready and waiting to go on the walls. Members have been getting ready for the event for about a month and the trim work — Kelly green paint around the windows — is nearly done, Barilotti said.

"Already, it's looking a hundred times better," he said, later adding, "By May 1st, we're going to have a nice looking school in the heart of Encinitas again."